Matt Stewart (author)
Encyclopedia
Matt Stewart is an American fiction author whose debut novel
, The French Revolution, was the first full-length novel to be published entirely on Twitter
. Following the Twitter release, the novel was signed to a publishing deal by Soft Skull Press
with a release date of Bastille Day
, 2010.
. In 2001, he received a B.A. in Ethics, Politics, and Economics from Yale University
.
2009 and finished the novel on October 21, 2009. The process, lasting just over four months and approximately 3,700 tweets, attracted 1,000 followers on Twitter. Stewart was called a "pioneer" by CNN.com and received worldwide media coverage for his Twitter experiment.
The French Revolution was released in traditional book form on Bastille Day 2010. It received a strong critical reception, and was named a Best Book of 2010 by the San Francisco Chronicle
and recognized as a Notable Debut by Poets & Writers
.
Stewart is currently working on his second novel, Duct Tape, about a homeless man in search of his imaginary son. He also is a contributor to The Huffington Post
, regularly publishes short stories, and speaks at literary and digital publishing events, including Litquake
and the San Francisco Writers Conference. Stewart also works as Head of Marketing for the non-profit organization Alliance for Climate Education.
Debut novel
A debut novel is the first novel an author publishes. Debut novels are the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to publish in the future...
, The French Revolution, was the first full-length novel to be published entirely on Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
. Following the Twitter release, the novel was signed to a publishing deal by Soft Skull Press
Soft Skull Press
Soft Skull Press is an independent publisher founded by Sander Hicks in 1992, and run by Richard Eoin Nash from 2001 to 2009. In 2007, Nash sold Soft Skull to Counterpoint LLC, where it continues to function as a division of the press...
with a release date of Bastille Day
Bastille Day
Bastille Day is the name given in English-speaking countries to the French National Day, which is celebrated on 14 July of each year. In France, it is formally called La Fête Nationale and commonly le quatorze juillet...
, 2010.
Early life and education
Matt Stewart was born in Washington, DC, on April 1, 1979, and grew up in Garrett Park, MarylandGarrett Park, Maryland
Garrett Park is a town in Montgomery County, Maryland. It was named for a former president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, but whether specifically for John Garrett or Robert W. Garrett is a matter of some disagreement between sources. The population was 917 at the 2000 census...
. In 2001, he received a B.A. in Ethics, Politics, and Economics from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
.
Career
Following unsuccessful efforts to sell his first novel to traditional publishers, Stewart turned to Twitter as a way to distribute his book to interested readers while generating publicity and media attention. He began tweeting the 480,000 character The French Revolution on Bastille DayBastille Day
Bastille Day is the name given in English-speaking countries to the French National Day, which is celebrated on 14 July of each year. In France, it is formally called La Fête Nationale and commonly le quatorze juillet...
2009 and finished the novel on October 21, 2009. The process, lasting just over four months and approximately 3,700 tweets, attracted 1,000 followers on Twitter. Stewart was called a "pioneer" by CNN.com and received worldwide media coverage for his Twitter experiment.
The French Revolution was released in traditional book form on Bastille Day 2010. It received a strong critical reception, and was named a Best Book of 2010 by the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
and recognized as a Notable Debut by Poets & Writers
Poets & Writers
Poets & Writers, Inc. is one of the largest nonprofit literary organization in the United States serving poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers...
.
Stewart is currently working on his second novel, Duct Tape, about a homeless man in search of his imaginary son. He also is a contributor to The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post is an American news website and content-aggregating blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, featuring liberal minded columnists and various news sources. The site offers coverage of politics, theology, media, business, entertainment, living, style,...
, regularly publishes short stories, and speaks at literary and digital publishing events, including Litquake
Litquake
Litquake is San Francisco's annual literary festival. Originally starting out as Litstock for a single day on July 16, 1999, it ran for two years under the same name before going dark in 2001 after 9/11...
and the San Francisco Writers Conference. Stewart also works as Head of Marketing for the non-profit organization Alliance for Climate Education.
External links
- @thefrenchrev.
- The French Revolution - Official site of the Twitter release of Stewart's debut novel